Fields of #worms and snowy microbial mats: #DeepSea submersible discovers flourishing ecosystem https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/deep-sea-creatures-discovery-hadal-trench-submersible-rcna222158

"There were dense beds of #clams, each up to 9 inches long, and snow-like #MicrobialMats creating an ethereal undersea dusting, dozens of feet wide. This is the first time #chemosynthesis-based communities directly observed at extreme depths... Long-standing theories suggest that chemosynthesis-based communities are widespread in hadal trenches, but few have been discovered"

Modern #MicrobialMats Offer Glimpses of Other Times and Places https://eos.org/features/modern-microbial-mats-offer-glimpses-of-other-times-and-places

Extant mat microbes synchronize vertical migration to a diel tempo https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0380133022002337

"#microbes alternately migrate hundreds of micrometers daily at speeds of 50–200 micrometers per minute toward the mat surfaces. There, they take turns harvesting sunlight and hydrogen sulfide during the day and oxygen at night, turning the mats distinctly purple during the day and white at night"